-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` An unconditional right to say what one pleases about public affairs is what I consider to be the minimum guarantee of the First Amendment . '' -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black , New York Times Co. vs. Sullivan , 1964

It 's downright disgusting to listen to conservative and Republican lawmakers , presidential candidates , business owners and media commentators use such vitriol to describe the Occupy Wall Street protesters as hell-bent on destroying America .

How in the world can anyone even form their lips to say such a thing when this very country was founded on the basis of dissent ?

Self-professed rodeo clown Glenn Beck castigates the Occupy Wall Street protesters , but he 's always running off at the mouth about the Founding Fathers and how brilliant they were .

Without dissent and protest , there is no United States of America ! It 's as if these folks never picked up a history book to understand how this nation was formed . The very notion of a United States of America started with someone saying , writing and screaming , `` Enough is enough ! '' And when more and more of the early settlers became enraged at the heavy-handed actions of the British , that 's when we were on our path to the American Revolution .

Do any of these so-called strict constructionists even read the very U.S. Constitution they love to wave in the faces of their critics ?

Every American , no matter if you 're young or old ; rich or poor ; red state or blue state ; Black , white , Asian , Hispanic , Native American ; has the freedom to assemble and freedom of speech , which is at the heart of these protests .

In this same space , I praised the tea party for not sitting around and complaining . Instead , they organized and mobilized to affect the political discourse in the Republican Party and have definitely had their voices heard . I may disagree with a number of things the tea party advocates , but there is no way I would condemn them for doing it . As Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas said , `` The right to revolt has sources deep in our history . ''

It 's increasingly clear that some Americans love to talk a good game about protests , yet hate it when someone who opposes their views decides to stand up and be heard .

Remember all of those political voices championing the people of Iran taking to the streets to protest ? How about Tunisia ? Egypt ? Libya ? Bahrain ? What would this world be without protest ?

We would have never seen freedom in Eastern Europe were it not without the people there , in the words of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer , being `` sick and tired of being sick and tired . '' Praise God that the children of South Africa , led by the African National Congress , did n't ignore the calls of history . If so , Nelson Mandela would be dying in jail and freedom would have never ended apartheid .

This nation would not have been forced to make real the very principles cited in the Declaration of Independence , or treat every human being as an equal , were it not for the civil rights movement . Those brave men , women and children chose not to accept the status quo , and this nation and the world are much better off because they did .

As a supporter of Occupy Wall Street , I understand fully the sentiment that is being expressed . The massive corporate greed that has devastated the wages of the common worker , and seen the pay of a bunch on Wall Street go through the stratosphere for literally making nothing tangible , has been immoral and obscene .

Wall Street and their protectors in Washington -- Democrat and Republican -- say nothing is wrong with making a profit . That is absolutely true . But what is shameful and outlandish is to watch the American taxpayer save the jobs -LRB- and big bonuses -RRB- of these financial miscreants , only to see them jack up fees left and right . Without the American people they would have had to pack up their belongings and hit the pavement . Instead , they refuse to work with homeowners struggling to meet the big mortgage payments that Wall Street helped underwrite ; then sell in exotic transactions that wrecked this nation 's financial infrastructure .

Conservatives call this an assault on capitalism . No , Occupy Wall Street is about trying to bring some decency and honesty back to an industry that used to have some . Instead , what we have today are literal financial pirates trying to take the largest booty they can find . They do n't care about the long-term health of this country . It 's all about the next quarterly earnings reports and their massive year-end bonuses .

This fight that Occupy Wall Street is engaged in is nothing short of a battle for the soul of this nation . Are we going to continue to allow ourselves to be held hostage by the big banks ? Will we continue to allow them to trample over us with their `` too big to fail '' attitude ?

No , no , and hell no . It 's time to bring these Goliaths to their knees by any means necessary . That mean the young and righteous Davids must protest , march , sit-in , work the halls of Congress and state capitals nationwide , and make it clear that as long as Wall Street , its lobbyists and political protectors continue to mistreat the common man and woman , they are our mortal enemy .

Now is not the time to dismiss the protesters as a bunch of lefty college students with no guidance , no substance and no mission . Instead of listening to politicians pimp the next generation , these folks are saying in the words of the founders of the nation 's first black newspaper , Freedom 's Journal : `` We wish to plead our own cause ; too long have others spoken for us . ''

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roland Martin .

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Without dissent and protest , there is no United States , Roland S. Martin says

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Characterizing Occupy Wall Street protesters as anti-American is disgusting , he says

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Martin : It 's not an assault on capitalism , but a call for decency in in the financial industry